Though Sherburne County wouldn’t turn 169 years old until Feb. 25, the Sherburne History Center celebrated its birthday on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
It was a day for family fun that included mini golf, a ring toss, clothes pin drop, coloring, tattoos (removable), prizes, a photo booth and cake inside the main conference room.
Program Coordinator Emma Hoard said 159 people had attended the Saturday event. Mo Galvin, Curator, mentioned that, “These parties have been getting bigger every year.”
Family fun was the point.
“When kids can associate learning with fun, they are more likely to remember things and be interested in discovering more,” said Hoard. “We hope that everybody who participates in our events finds a deeper connection to their community through history!”
Discovering History
For the 42 kids and their leaders from Trail Life USA troop #MN0320 having fun and learning about history was the point. John Dumont explained that Feb. 22 was already marked on the calendar as a day for an outing. When troop leaders discovered that the SHC was celebrating Sherburne County’s Birthday, they immediately knew where their outing was going to be.
“We had kids who were focusing on their Heritage Badge which was learning about history. Everything just happened to work out.”
The troop planned on spending time inside exploring the museum, but also planned to take a moment to spend time outside on a beautiful, sunny winter day. The museum offers four miles of hiking trails on over 140 acres in the Oak Savanna Park. There’s even a self-guided hike called the “Legacy Trail” where hikers can discover some of the county’s fascinating history that winds through eight unique stations.
Inside, the museum boasts an award-winning exhibit entitled, “Life on the Edge”. In 2005, the SHC received an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History. Museum goers get to explore the history of Sherburne County beginning with the glaciers that formed the topography of Sherburne County back 15,000 years ago to today.
Moses Sherburne
The most important history of the day may have belonged to Moses Sherburne, the man the county was named after. Sherburne was born on Jan. 25, 1808 in Mount Vernon, Maine where he became a lawyer and served as a postmaster, county attorney, and state representative for Maine. He moved to St. Paul, Minnesota shortly after marrying Sophia Dyar Whitney in 1832. In 1853, he was appointed district court judge for the MN 2nd Judicial District and an associate justice to the MN Territorial Supreme Court. In 1857, he served at the MN Constitutional Convention and was instrumental in guiding the Territory of MN into statehood in 1858. Eventually, he moved his family of five to Orono in 1867 where he soon passed on March 29.1868.
Despite all the learning that was happening, Galvin took a moment to take it all in. A smile came across her face as she said how much she loved to hear kids laughing in the history center. On Saturday, it was a sign that they were accomplishing what they had hoped for, making history fun.
The Sherburne County birthday party was sponsored by Jenna Potter from Oak Realty and all the cake was donated by Cub Foods.
